Moving mold casting apparatus



Nov. 3, 1959 Filed July 5, 1956 C. E. NORTON MOVING MOLD CASTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

CHARLE$ E NORTON BY J I 1/ I AT ORA/Y Nov. 3, 1959 c. E. NORTON MOVING MOLD CASTING APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 39. Q m I ytl 0M w 0 W I 7 I W L owl INVBVTOR.

[17' ORNEY United States Patent MOVING MOLD CASTING APPARATUQ Charles E. Norton Highland Park, Ill assignor to New tioml Malleableand Steel Castings bompany, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July s, 1956, Serial No. 595,925

10 Claims. (Cl. 22-76) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for casting of metal objects.

In present day mechanized foundry practice, particularly in ferrous foundries, it is usual to pour the molten metal into the molds as they move along a conveyor, each mold being separate and distinct from the adjacent molds on the conveyor. Thus the pouring of metal into a given mold on the conveyor is done entirely independently of the adjacent molds. Such molds generally comprise a cope and drag and usually are confined by a flask or casing to prevent disintegration of the mold during the pouring operation. In certain foundry practice in which the molds may not be carried on a conveyor, a series of stationary molds may be clamped together prior to pouring of the metal. In either case, external mold clamping or confining means must be employed prior to the pouring operation.

The present invention provides a method of casting wherein external clamping or confining of the molds is obviated. More particularly, it provides a method of arranging a series of molds in face to face contact along an incline, intermittently adding new molds to the lower end of the series and causing the molds to move up the incline, under a fixed point at which molten metal is continuously poured into the molds. The poured molds continue to move up the incline beyond the pouring station to a point of discharge where the molds and contents drop onto a shakecut device. The continuous addition of new molds at the lower or feed end of the series, to replace molds which have moved forwardly toward the pouring station, maintains the series intact. During operation of the machine for carrying out the invention, poured molds are being constantly discharged at one end of the machine while new molds are simultaneously added at the other end while at an intermediate point continuous pouring of the molds is occurring.

The various features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the machine shown in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view to illustrate the operation of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the platen of the machine.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the platen shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view of a group of molds passing under the pouring station.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, the machine for carrying out the invention comprises a main frame consisting of a pair of vertical side plates 10, each of which is provided with a rocker 12 on which the structure is supported to enable proper positioning of the machine. A conveyor frame 14, disposed between plates and rigidly secured thereto, as at 15, extends forwardly therefrorn. An end- Patented Nov. 3, 1959 less slat conveyor 16 is attached to two strands of roller chain 18 which at the head end of the machine run on a pair of sprockets 20 and at the rearward end on a pair of tail sprockets 22. Between the head and tail sprockets the chains run on fiat support plates 24 on the conveyor frame. The conveyor 16 comprises a series of slat members 26 which, on the top side of the conveyor, provide a fiat, substantially uninterrupted supporting surface for molds 28. The conveyor frame 14 is adjustably supported intermediate its ends by a post member .30 to permit positioning of the conveyor at the desired slope.

The machine is powered by an electric motor 32 which drives at constant speed the sleeve 34 of a single revolution clutch 36 of well-known design, which is mounted on a cam shaft 3%. Near the center of cam shaft 38 is a split cam 40 which is keyed to the shaft. Cam 40 is in contact with a cam follower in the form of a roller 42 which is mounted on the lower end of a cam arm 44. The roller 42 is at all times maintained in contact with cam 40 by a spring 41 connected to a bracket 43 at the lower end of arm as. Arm 44 is pivotally connected to side frame members 10 by means of a rocker arm 46 which is eccentrically mounted relative to plates. in, as at dd. Arm 46 permits straight line motion of the upper end of the cam arm, as will be hereinafter described. The upper end of cam arm 44 is pivotally connected, as at '48, to a platen 50 which servesto deliver new molds onto the slat conveyor 16. Platen 50 is constrained by guides 52 to move in straight line motion, parallel to the plane of the mold supporting surface of the conveyor. Guides 52 are secured to the inner sides of frame side plates iii! and are slidable through openings 54 in tubular portions 56 of the platen.

Movement of the slat conveyor during operation of the machine is effected by means of a magnetic clutch dil, the driver half of which is keyed to cam shaft 38. The driven half of the clutch is connected by means of a roller chain 62 to a sprocket 64, which is keyed to tail shaft 66. It will be noted that the tail sprockets 22 are also mounted on shaft 66 but are not keyed thereto-they are free to rotate on it. Tail shaft 66 passes through a gear box 68 which drives a longitudinal shaft 70 which is disposed on the longitudinal center line of the machine. At the head end of the conveyor shaft 70 enters another gear box 72 which effects rotation of head shaft 74 to which sprockets 2d are keyed. It will thus be apparent that the slat conveyor will be driven in the direction of the arrow A by head sprockets 20, thereby maintaining the top portion of the conveyor taut at all times.

The molds 28 are preferably of the dry sand type and have complementary mold impressions in opposite faces so that when two molds are disposed in face-to-face engagement a complete mold cavity is formed, as seen in Fig. 7. Each mold is formed with a channel or trough 29 on its top side through which molten metal may flow to the molds. The molds may be formed with any suitable binders to impart suflicient strength and rigidity to permit handling and application to the machine. As may be seen in the drawings, the molds are generally boxshaped, having fiat vertical side surfaces 28a and 28b for engagement with adjacent molds. It will be seen from Fig. 7 that a series of the molds in face-to-face contact form in effect a single mold having a plurality of mold cavities and a common pouring troughextending across the top.

The lowermost mold of the series of molds is held in position on the slat conveyor by a pair of horizontally movable arms or latches which are provided with shoulders 82 for engaging the rearward side of the mold. Latches 80 are pivotally mounted relative to the frame of the machine by means of vertical pins 84 which extend into support brackets 86, the latter being mounted on transverse shaft 33 extending between side plates 10. The latches are held in active or mold holding position by a spring 90 and the setting of the latches in such position is made by means of set screws 92 which engage stop shoulders 94 on the latches.

The platen 50 is provided with adjustable support fingers 96 for locating the bottom of the mold in the plane of the top surface of the conveyor slats. The

of the mold triggers a micro-switch 100 (Fig. 3) which causes the trip lever 102 of the single revolution clutch 36 to lift and permit the clutch to make exactly one revolution. As lever 102 lifts it closes a second microswitch 104 which thereupon energizes the magnetic clutch 60. As clutch 36 rotates, cam 40, being connected to shaft 38 on which the clutch is mounted, also makes one revolution. As the cam roller 42 rides along cam 40, the upper end of cam arm 44 moves the platen and new mold toward the lowermost or end mold on the conveyor. As soon as the mold carried by the platen engages the end mold, the slat conveyor, together with the molds thereon, begins to move in the direction uphill of the incline and continues such movement until the upper end of cam arm 44 has moved the full extent of its forward travel (Fig. 8). It will be understood that as the new mold carried forward by the platen engages the end mold, the force so applied to the latter is imparted to the rest of the molds and hence to the slat conveyor.

The magnetic clutch 60 is so adjusted by means of a rheostat or potentiometer 106 that it does not transmit enough torque to the slat conveyor to move it or to keep it moving. However, the force applied to the end mold by the platen is sufiicient to cause the magnetic clutch to drive the conveyor and it does this so long as the platen is applying a' force to the end mold. Preferably the clutch is adjusted to supply about 75 percent of the force needed to move the conveyor, the other 25 percent being provided by the force exerted by the platen against the end mold. Therefore, as the platen reaches its forwardmost travel, the conveyor will stop immediately, as will the molds thereon. It will be understood that the frictional force between the molds and the top surface of the slats 26 precludes any movement of the molds longitudinally relative to the conveyor so that molds and conveyor will in effect move and stop together as an integral unit. Also, as the platen reaches the forward point in its travel, the latches 80 swing in behind the new mold so as to support it as well as the entire series of molds. The new mold now becomes the end or lowermost mold of the series. As the platen returns empty to its starting position, the magnetic clutch 60 is deactivated by the opening of micro-switch 104. It will be clear that the return of the platen is effected by the action of cam arm 44 as its roller 42 follows the surface of cam 40 while the latter makes a complete revolution. The microswitch 104 is opened by trip lever 102 which, as clutch 36 completes its single revolution, gradually drops to the position shown in dot-dash in Fig. 3. The above cycle is repeated each time a new mold is applied to the platen.

It will be understood that the distance the platen travels in moving from its rearward or starting position as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, to its forwardmost position as shown in Fig. 8 is determined by the contour of cam 40. The travel of the platen may, therefore, be controlled by varying the cam contour in the event operating conditions may require a different travel.

The pouring station is located intermediate the ends of the conveyor as at 110. The conveyor is preferably inclined so that the molten metal will flow downhill in troughf 29 and into several molds simultaneously. Thus a constant stream of metal will be flowing in trough 29 beneath the pouring station. The inclination of the mold supporting surface also serves the important function of maintaining the molds in tight face-to-face contact. Thus the molds are held by gravity in tight contact without the need of any mold clamping devices. This feature constitutes an important aspect of the invention.

The filled molds are conveyed past the pouring station toward the head end of the conveyor. During the latter period, the molten metal in the mold solidifies. As the molds reach the upper end of the conveyor they automatically begin to separate at a point above th: head sprockets 20 and gradually topple off the end \f the conveyor onto a shake-out device (not shown).

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A moving mold casting machine comprising a pair of spaced side frame members for supporting the machine, an endless conveyor disposed between said members and secured at one end thereto, said conveyor having a top surface for supporting associated molds, means for driving said conveyor, and means at one end of said conveyor for applying associated molds to said top surface, said last named means comprising a rotatable cam mounted between said members, a pivoted cam arm actuated by said cam to move in a forward and rearward direction, and mold carrying means connected to said arm for delivering a mold to said conveyor surface.

2. A casting machine as defined in claim 1 in which said mold carrying means comprises a platen pivoted to an end of said arm.

3. A casting machine in accordance with claim 2 in which means is provided on said members to guide said platen in a straight line motion parallel to the plane of said top surface.

4. In a moving mold casting machine an endless slat conveyor, power means for driving said conveyor, and means for applying associated molds onto said conveyor at one end thereof, said means comprising a pivoted cam arm having forward and rearward movement, a cam for actuating said arm, and means on said arm for supporting and positioning a mold.

5. A moving mold casting machine comprising an endless slat conveyor providing an inclined flat mold supporting surface, a series of molds supported on said surface in vertical face-to-face contact, a cam shaft, a cam secured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a clutch device connected to said shaft for intermittently effecting a single revolution thereof, power means for operating said device, mold carrying means actuated by said cam during a single revolution of said shaft for applying a new mold to one end of said conveyor, other clutch means connected to said shaft, and drive means connecting said last named clutch means and said conveyor for driving said conveyor during delivery of a new mold by said mold carrying means to said conveyor.

6. A machine in accordance with claim 5 in which control means is provided for actuating said clutch device, said control means being excited upon the application of a new mold to said mold carrying means.

7. In a moving mold casting machine, an upwardly inclined surface, a series of molds in vertical face-to-face engagement supported on said surface substantially along the entire longitudinal extent thereof, means at the lower end of said surface comprising a cam-actuated arm movable from a mold receiving position to a mold delivering position, said arm being adapted to deliver a new mold into engagement with the lowermost mold of said series of molds and to move said molds up said incline a predetermined amount, said arm having at its upper end a mold supporting member for receiving and carrying a new mold onto the lower end of said surface into said engagement with the lowermost mold, and means at the lower end of said molds movable into position for supporting said molds in upright position, said last named means being automatically movable into supporting engagement with a new mold upon delivery of the same to said series by said arm.

8. A moving mold casting machine in accordance with claim 7 in which said last-named means comprises a pair of pivoted latches for engaging the rearward side of the lowermost of said molds.

9. In a moving mold casting machine the combination of an upwardly inclined flat surface; a series of individual molds in vertical face-to-face contact supported on said surface but being unattached thereto; each of said molds being relatively thin with respect to its width and height; means for adding new molds onto said surface at the lower end of said series of molds and into engagement with the end mold and for moving said molds upwardly along said surface a predetermined amount; said means comprising a cam actuated reciprocating arm movable from a mold receiving position to a mold delivering position at the lower end of said series of molds, a cam engaging one end of said arm to actuate the latter, and a rocker-arm connected to said cam-arm intermediate 6 its ends and being so arranged as to impart straight line movement to the other end of the cam-arm; support means onsaid other end of the cam-arm for positioning and carrying a mold in upright position.

10. A machine as defined in claim 9 in which holding means is provided for automatically engaging a new mold, after the same has been added to said series by said arm, to support said molds against tipping rearwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 37,389 Driver Jan. 13, 1863 539,209 Adams May 14, 1895 814,728 Potter Mar. 13, 1906 1,049,644 Baker Jan. 7, 1913 1,615,696 Gutierrez Ian. 25, 1927 1,821,270 Miles Sept. 1, 1931 2,091,348 Baldwin Aug. 31, 1937 2,236,471 Eppensteiner Mar. 25, 1941 2,292,266 Friden Aug. 4, 1942 2,326,164 Payne Aug. 10, 1943 2,486,388 Brinton Nov. 1, 1949 2,742,682 Payne Apr. 24, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 726,718 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1955 

